WRONG-DOOR RAID VICTIM THREATENS SUIT

NEW YORK, March 3 (UPI) -- A New York City man who had his apartment shot
up and his door broken down by police who got the wrong address for a drug
raid is threatening a lawsuit.

Ellis Elliott told reporters today that he was with his girlfriend in his
Bronx apartment last Friday when someone outside started trying to knock
down the door. Elliott said he grabbed his gun and demanded to know who it
was before he even had a chance to put on some clothes. He said: ``I
thought it was a robbery. I'm saying 'Who is it? Who is it? Who is it?' and
no one is answering.'' He said his reaction was to fire one shot into the
top of the door frame, to scare off whoever it was.

The officers shot back, firing 24 rounds at the apartment. No one was hurt.
When police came piling in, he said he did not resist and tried to explain
his innocence.

He said police hauled him naked out of the apartment, insulted him, and
handcuffed him on the floor. Eventually someone gave him some women's
clothing before police took him to central booking. He said, ``They threw
me down like a piece of toilet paper.'' The police department has offered
to pay for the damage done by the shooting and subsequent ransacking of the
apartment by police. Elliott says that's not enough. His lawyer is
promising to file a multi-million dollar lawsuit in a few weeks.

Police initially charged Elliott with attempted murder, but the charge was
lowered to misdemeanor possession of a weapon. A spokesman said such
incidents are rare, and police would take proper steps if officers
mistreated Elliott.

Lt. Stephen Biegel said: ``The department is vigorously investigating this
matter, and will comment upon the conclusion of our investigation. In over
45,000 warrants executed last year, we went to the wrong apartment 10 times.''

Copyright 1998 by United Press International